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9FHow Captain Dobbins, Benjamin 
Fleming and Others Assisted Him. 
Historical Incidents Having a Direct 
Bearing on the Battle of Lake Erie 

BY GEORGE REID YAPLE 




Copyright, 1913, by the Author. 



r36L 



/jo/- 



(f^r.i A.'jdT \ 1 1) 



PERRY AT ERIE 




HE story of Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, 
Sept. lo, 1813, is one that has thrilled the 
hearts of young Americans ever since, and 
will continue to inspire patriotism and 
pride in generations to come through all 
the history of our country. It has a spe- 
cial interest to Erie, Pennsylvania the sur- 
rounding countryside, and the Lake Erie 
region, for the reason that the little fleet, 
destined to wrest the supremacy of the 
Great Lakes from British dominion, was 
builded at Erie, of timbers that once stood 
on land afterwards included in the corporate hmits of the 
city itself, and among the men who helped to hew the tim- 
bers and spike them in their places, were a number whose 
names are honored in the city's history. 

Oliver Hazard Perry first looked upon the village of 
Erie, March 27, 1813, and 209 days later (Oct. 22, 181 3) he 
departed, never again to visit the scene of his many trials 
and tribulations preceding the day he fought and won the 
victory that placed his name high among those of the world's 
naval heroes and made his memory one to be cherished in 
American hearts so long as America shall remain a "Land of 
the Free and Home of the Brave." 

Perry was a dashing young naval hero ol 27 years when 
he arrived in Erie by sleigh from Buffalo, N. Y., having been 
sent here by the United States government to take charge 
of a fleet of vessels, then building at the harbor front. 

It is not the purpose of the writer to dwell upon the 
causes or effects of the war of 1812, nor to deal at length w;th 
the facts more generally known. The story is written fol- 
lowing an exhaustive examination of all the historical data 
to be had and should prove interesting reading as well as val- 



PERRY AT ERIE. 



liable information in that it dwells mainly upon Perry's ar- 
rival in Erie and conditions there in 1813. 

The port of Erie is the oldest port on the Great Lakes, 
and in 181 2 it was the most important. From there all mili- 
tary supplies were shipped to posts along the lakes. The 
port was then known as Presque Isle and though the name 
of the port was changed not long after the events here nar- 
rated. Presque Isle continued to be the name of the cus- 
toms district until the civil war. 

Perry's trip from Buffalo to Erie was most difficult. 
There were but few settlements along the lake shore, and 
Erie was practically cut off from Buffalo during the 
winter season. In summer, vessels plied between the two 
ports, but the overland journey, when the lake was frozen 
over, was a hazardous trip. There was a small settlement 
where Dunkirk now stands and there Perry spent the first 
night after he set out from Buffalo. The horses, attached 
to the old-fashioned sleigh in which Perry and his little 
brother were making the trip, were cared for in a log barn 
near a settler's cabin and the two travelers spent the night 
in the small but hospitable rural home. 

Early the next morning they were on their way, for 
Perry was anxious to reach his destination in order to quick- 
ly take command of the situation and hasten the building of 
the fleet which, he had been told, was well started when he 
was assigned to the command. 

There were no telephones or other speedv methods of 
communication in those days, of course, and Perry's arrival 
in Erie was unheralded until, in the gathering twilight of 
the March evening, he drove the tired horses into the edge 
of the village. In a very short time the entire village had 
learned that the young commander had arrived and crowds 
began to gather about the Dobbins homestead to which he 
had been escorted. 

Daniel Dobbins and Noah Brown had just returned to 
their homes from the activities at the shipyard and they were 
among the first to grasp Perry's hand. How anxiously he 
inquired as to the progress made can better be imagined than 



PERRY AT ERIE. 



told for the records say nothing of the conversation between 
the three men. 

Perry quickly made himself acquainted with the people 
of Erie and he was the lion of the hour socially as well as in 
the preparations for the campaign to wrest the lakes from 
British power. In those days dancing parties were of nightly 
occurrence and while Perry was a quiet, dignified unassum- 
in sort of a fellow, he was a good dancer and no party in Erie 
would have been complete then without his presence. 

Stories of Perry published many years ago refer to him 
as a gallant youth with whom half the young women of the 
village were infatuated, and needless to say he was in great 
demand at all the social functions of the day in Erie. 

The home of Capt. Dobbins was a quaint little cottage 
erected on a small knoll at the corner of Third and State 
streets. The house was built back slightly from the street. 
It occupied the northeast corner of Third and State streets. 
Steps led up the hillock from the street to the dooryard from 
both State street and Third street. The old house was 
moved back toward French street about sixty-five years af- 
terwards and remodeled into a flat. The hillock was graded 
down to the street level and a store building erected. 

On his arrival at the Dobbins homestead Perry met with 
a cordial welcome, such as only Mrs. Dobbins knew how to 
extend to the stranger within her home. The neighbors 
came in to meet the young man who had been assigned to so 
important a command as the fleet that was to fight for Amer- 
ican supremacy on the inland seas. 

It was far into the night, we are told, that first evening 
of Perry's arrival here, when the young naval hero was 
shown to his room, an attic affair on the second floor, but 
which had a window commanding a fine view of State street 
and from which he could gaze out upon the waters of Erie 
harbor, from which he was shortly to sail at the head of the 
little fleet destined to make history for the American people 
and for the world. 

In one corner of the little room was an old-fashioned 
four-post bed the most inviting place for rest that young 
Perry had seen in some time. One hundred years afterwards 



8 PERRY AT ERIE. 

the same bed in which young Perry slept that night and every 
other night during his sojourn in Erie, was in the possession 
of Mrs. Charles H. Strong. It was given an honored posi- 
tion among the historic rehcs so carefully preserved in the 
Strong residence at Sixth and Peach streets. 

The village of Erie, as Perry found it, boasted a popul- 
ation of bona-fide residents of slightly over 400 souls. The 
fifty or sixty structures built on State, Peach, Holland and 
French streets, between what became the parks and the lake 
front, together with scattering cabins in near proximity, 
made up the village of Erie as Perry found it. Judah 
Colt, a man whose name stands out prominently among 
those of Erie's early enterprising citizens, was burgess and 
of course, he was included among the first to extend the 
hand of welcome to the young naval officer. Despite its cred- 
ited population of less than 500 people, Erie was a busy spot 
when Perry first saw it. There were several hundred peo- 
ple, comprising a floating population, men whom the quest 
of fame and fortune had directed there, and men whose pa- 
triotic impulses had caused them to volunteer their services 
in the defense of the town. 

James Sill, one of Erie's old-time honored citizens, says 
in the city directory published in 1853-54: 

"At the close of the war of 1812, Erie continued to ad- 
vance with a slow and steady growth until 1820, when the 
first official census was taken. At that time Erie had a pop- 
ulation of 635. In 1830 the population had grown to i 329, 
and in 1840 to 3,413." 

Perry received orders from the navy department on 
February 17, 1813, to proceed to Erie, and 24 hours later he 
had sent ofif a detachment of 50 carpenters by way of Phila- 
delphia. Four days later he set out himself with his younger 
brother, James Alexander. They traveled chiefly in sleighs 
and were five weeks reaching their destination. Their ar- 
rival in Erie on March 27, was marked by a warm welcome 
from the best citizens of the town. 

When Perry arrived in Erie he found that the only de- 
fensive force was a military company of forty men and the 
workmen on the boats whom Capt. Dobbins had armed and 



PERRY AT ERIE. 



drilled for emergency. Gen. John Kelso had just called out 
the militia of his brigade, but they had not yet organized. 
Young Perry immediately counseled with Maj. Gen. David 
Mead, military commander in this section of Pennsylvania, 
the result being the calling out of all the available military 
forces, and in a short time i,ooo men had been gathered. 

From the Illustrated Erie County History published in 
1896, we gather interesting information concerning the 
gathering of troops here to support Perry and defend Erie 
and this information is supported by the Dobbins papers as 
recorded in the Buffalo Historical Society publication, al- 
though not so fully. The Erie County History says in part : 

"The brigade of which the Erie county mihtia formed 
a part, was commanded by Brig. Gen. John Kelso, and the 
Erie county regiment was under command of Dr. John C. 
Wallace. Among the officers of the regiment were Capts. 
Andrew Cochran, Zelotus Lee, James Barr, William Dick- 
son, Robert Davison, Warren Foote, John Morris, a man 
named Smith and another whose name was Donaldson. Capt. 
Barr's Springfield company kept guard along the lakes for 
some months. The company commanded by Capt. Foote 
did sentry duty near the head of the peninsula. 

"Before the close of June Gen. Kelso ordered out his 
entire brigade for the defense of Erie. This was quickly fol- 
lowed by a general call for the sixteenth division, the state 
having by this time been apportioned into more numerous 
military districts than previously. The brigade rendezvous 
was on the farm of John Eytle, upon the fiats where Water- 
ford station, on the P. & E. railroad, now stands. Upward 
of 2,000 men were gathered from the counties of Erie, Craw- 
ford and Mercer and the adjoining counties. In August they 
were ordered to Buffalo which point was then in grave dan- 
ger. They remained there during the winter." 

Perry found that the most important matter following 
the summoning of troops for the defense of Erie in March, 
1813, was to obtain some heavy pieces of ordnance, and Capt. 
Dobbins was dispatched to Black Rock for some 12-pounders 
and chests of arms. He succeeded in getting four 12-pound- 
ers and four teams loaded with small arms and stores to the 



lo PERRY AT ERIE. 

bridge over Buffalo Creek. The Dobbins letters tell of the 
difficulty he had there. After finding that the bridge had 
been washed away he rafted his precious cargo across and 
then went out upon the treacherous ice in the lake. He had 
proceeded but a short distance when one team and a 12- 
pound gun broke through where there was fifteen feet of 
water. After considerable delay the gun was fished out. Re- 
turning to the shore the remainder of the journey was made 
on land. From Conjaquada's Creek, Dobbins and the men 
brought a 32-pound gun in an open boat, a most hazardous 
trip. 

From the forest around Massasaugua Point the timber 
for the squadron was cut and in a short time the keels were 
laid for all the vessels of the fleet. After almost incredible 
and protracted attention to details, Perry was enabled to 
launch a force of nine vessels, whose total tonnage was under 
1,700 tons. He had 54 guns, capable of hurling a broadside 
of 34 pounds of metal. Of the squadron only two — the Law- 
rence and the Niagara — could be considered battleships. 
Each of those ships carried 20 guns, two being long 12- 
pounder carronades. The other vessels were of slight con- 
struction without bulwarks. 

On April 15 two of the gun boats, the Tigress and Por- 
cupine, were launched, and on May i, the Scorpion. They 
were immediately fitted out, manned and armed. On May 23 
Perry went to Buffalo and joined Commodore Chauncey in 
the capture of Fort George. He was accompanied by Capt. 
Dobbins. The Ohio and several other vessels were brought 
to Erie by Perry and Dobbins following the capture of Fort 
George, the vessels having been captured from the enemy. 

The bringing of the war vessels from Buffalo to Erie to 
strengthen the fleet here, could not well have been accom- 
plished without the aid of Providence. 

Perry and his men were unaware that the British had 
been informed of the intended movement of the Americans, 
and as they crept along the bank of the lake toward Erie they 
did not know, although it is likely they realized such 
might be the case, that Barclay and his fleet were lying in 
wait to annihilate the vessels en route to Presque Isle. Off 



PERRY AT ERIE. ii 

what is only a few miles east of the spot where Dunkirk now 
stands Barclay waited. He had no way of knowing just when 
the Americans were coming, but he intended to get them 
when they did come. He had spread his fleet for many miles 
out into the lake. Barclay evidently thought the Americans 
would not risk hitting the rocks close in and in any event 
his men could watch five miles of space between them and the 
shore. Early one morning Perry and his little fleet crept 
down the coast. A dense streak of fog settled between his 
vessels and the nearest British boat. A man standing on the 
high rocks could see both the American and the British boats 
but the fog, like a long streak of smoke, prevented one from 
seeing the other. When the fog had lifted the Americans 
were out of sight and fast approaching Erie harbor and 
safety. 

The Lawrence and Niagara were no feet between the 
perpendiculars, loo feet straight rabbet, 30 feet beam and 9 
feet hold. Noah Brown gave them this shallow depth of 
hold, in order to have a good height of quarters or bulwarks, 
and at the same time not show a high side; and also to se- 
cure a light draught of water. They were hastily constructed 
of such timber as came handy, though staunchly built. Many 
people are in error in regard to the name of the Lawrence, 
and give it as St. Lawrence. The name was given by the 
navy department in honor of Capt. James Lawrence, who fell 
mortally wounded while in command of the frigate Chesa- 
peake in her unfortunate encounter with the British frigate 
Shannon; and Commodore Perry adopted Lawrence's last 
words, "Don't Give Up the Ship," as a fighting motto. 

The schooners Ariel, of pilot boat model, and Scorpion, 
were about 63 tons ; the Tigress and the Porcupine about 52 
tons. 

There is some discrepancy between those who should 
have a correct knowledge, as to the date the Lawrence and 
Niagara were launched. Mackenzie, the historian, gives it 
as the 24th of May, and most authors have accepted that 
date. Capt. Dobbins, in his papers, does not state definitely. 
He wrote, "I make it that the Lawrence was launched on or 
about June 20, and the Niagara on July 4." 



12 PERRY AT ERIE. 

It is not the purpose of this article to dwell at any 
length upon the points which are generally well known. The 
vital facts of interest to Erie and vicinity, which every patri- 
otic citizen would Hke to know and ought to know are given 
herewith as the best authorities have recorded them. 

The Dobbins papers state that on Sunday morning, Au- 
gust I, Perry got under way with all the vessels in a hght 
breeze from the northeast and worked down to the entrance 
of the channel, when they commenced preparations for get- 
ting over the bar. In the afternoon Major General Mead and 
suite visited the Lawrence and were received with a salute. 
The general was much gratified with the fine warlike and 
formidable appearance of the vessels, more particularly the 
Lawrence and the Niagara. 

Dobbins says no religious services were held on board, 
as some authors maintain. "Not that it was distasteful to 
Perry," he explains, "but he had a time for everything and 
the present was occupied with preparation for crossing the 
bar." Dobbins goes on to explain that Rev. Robert Reid 
was the only minister here at the time and he showed him 
reports of the religious services. Rev. Reid said that he had 
held services on board the vessels as they lay at the cascade, 
but not on the occasion so often referred to. 

Early on the morning of August 2, Dobbins took 
charge of the Lawrence as pilot and kedged her to the en- 
trance of the channel. The east wind had made the water 
low. The other vessels were lined up to defend the Law- 
rence while on the bar. It took three hours to remove every- 
thing on board the Lawrence, including guns and supplies. 
The guns were rolled up on the beach and mounted over logs 
to be ready in case the British came up. The manner in 
which the vessels were raised and taken across the bar into 
the lake and the guns and supplies restored to them is known 
to practically everyone. 

The carronades (so called by reason of their being made 
at the Carron iron works in Scotland) were useless except at 
close range. They fired a scattering shot at a low velocity, 
but with terrible effect when close to the object fired at. 
Another advantage they possessed was that they could be 




THE NIAGARA IN ACTION 

13iiriiig the Battle of Lake Erie (from a painting) and two photographs of tiie 
hull taken shortly after it was raised from Misery Bay in March, 1913. 



PERRY AT ERIK. 13 



worked rapidly in squads. To make his carronade fire as 
effective as possible Perry used scraps of iron sewed in leath- 
er bags, in addition to shot, grape and canister. 

Captain Robert H. Barclay, in command of the British 
naval forces, learned early in the winter of Perry's presence 
in Erie and of his task in equipping a fleet. Barclay was 
kept posted by scout boats of Perry's progress, and late in 
July the British squadron of six vessels dropped anchor off 
Presque Isle Bay to block the American fleet from leaving 
port. 

Perry waited his opportunity, however, and on the night 
of August 12, while the enemy was absent, he succeeded in 
getting away with his entire force. The larger ships — the 
Lawrence and the Niagara — were lifted on "camels," a water 
tight structure placed beneath the boats in order to assist 
their passage over shallow water at the mouth of the bay. 

On August 28 he was made master commander of the 
fleet, and on September 9 he lay in Put-in-Bay, having gone 
up the lake in search of the enemy. 

The vessels of Perry's fleet were the Lawrence, Niagara. 
Caledonia. Scorpion, Porcupine, Tigress, Ariel, Somers and 
Trippe. 

Captain Barclay's squadron was composed of the De- 
troit, his flagship, and the Chippewa, Hunter, Queen Char- 
lotte, Lady Prevost and Little Belt. 

Man for man, the forces were about evenly divided, 
each having about six hundred men. Many, in fact the 
greater majoritv of Perry's men, had never seen service on 
the water, but in the five months of constant drilling at Erie 
he made good artillerists and sailors of them. 

Barclav had 63 cannon, nine more than Perry. His 
total broadside of metal, however, was only 459 pounds. 
The total tonnage of his vessel was 1,460 tons. 

Capt. Barclay had served his apprenticeship with Ad- 
miral Nelson of old, and he was recognized as one of the 
best navigators of the British navy. 

On the afternoon of September 9, Perry discovered 
the enemy lying at anchor a few miles off Put-inBay. That 
evening the voung commander called the officers of his 



14 PERRY AT ERIE. 

squadron arouiul hini for a conference, which was held on 
the Lawrence. He was determined to attack the British 
fleet the next morning if it still remained at anchor, inviting 
fight. 

The conference lasted till after lo o'clock. Just before 
its conclusion Perry had bumpers of grog brought on and 
each man drank to success on the morrow. The officers 
were cautioned, however, that they must not "touch another 
drop," for, as the commander said, "We will all need clear 
heads in the battle which is to decide the supremacy of the 
lakes." 

Before the officers of his fleet departed Perry brought 
out a square battle flag which had been made for him by the 
ladies of Erie. It was blue, and bore in large letters made 
of muslin the dying words of Lawrence, "Don't give up the 
ship." 

"When this flag shall be hoisted at the main yard," said 
Perry, "it shall be your signal for going into action." 

That was a sleepless night for the men of Perry's fleet. 
When the officers returned to their respective ships after 
the conference aboard the Lawrence the word w^as quickly 
passed to the crews that an attack was to be made on the 
morrow. 

As the fleets approached each other at lo o'clock the 
next morning the whole British line gave three cheers and 
the long guns of the Detroit opened fire on the Lawrence. 
The distance between the two vessels was about one and 
one-half miles. 

By noon the engagement was on in earnest, taking the 
form of a duel, the heaviest vessel in each fleet confronting 
the other. 

At first the British had a manifest advantage, being 
able to employ a heavier battery in smaller space than the 
American fleet. Barclay concentrated his heaviest long- 
range guns on the Lawrence and nfter standing up under a 
steady fire for nearly four hours Perry's flag ship was 
reduced to a hulk. Only one of the Lawrence's guns was 
left mounted, and the cock pit was filled whh killed and 
wounded, and out of the crew of loi men only i8 were 



PERRY AT ^:RIR. 15 



uninjured. The uninjured included the commander, his 
brother, Alexander, and the ship's surgeon. 

The Caledonia, Ariel and Scorpion had ably assisted 
Perry, but the Niagara, the best boat in the fleet, except 
the Lawrence, had remained in the rear l)y order of the 
commander. 

With almost certain defeat staring him in the face, 
Perry called upon four sailors to man a boat, and with his 
brother and the flag of the Lawrence wrapped around his 
arm he left the ship in command of one of his lieutenants. 
vShielded by the smoke of battle that hung heavily over the 
water, he succeeded in escaping to the Niagara, which was 
reached after a hard pull of fifteen minutes. Sending Lieut. 
Elliott to command the Somers he ordered sail to bring up 
his best ships close to the Niagara, which would now be a 
target for the guns of the Detroit. 

Favored by a freshening breeze, he quickly speeded the 
Niagara and other ships into action. In endeavoring to get 
a position for a broadside at the Niagara the Queen Char- 
lotte was disabled by Perry's carronades, and falling foul of 
the Detroit the two ships became entangled. Taking ad- 
vantage of this the American ships took raking positions 
and the full battery of the Niagara joined in the steady, 
rapid fire that swept the British" decks. Riflemen from the 
mountains of Kentucky were in the tops of the American 
ships and they picked of¥ every visible enemy. After an 
hour of this kind of fighting the British flag was hauled down 
and for the first time in history Great Britain lost an entire 
squadron, which surrendered to a young man of 27. 

The Chippewa and Little Belt escaped, but were over- 
taken bv the Scorpion and Trippe and surrendered in less 
than an hour. 

On the deck of the Niagara, Perry, using his naval cap 
on which to rest the back of an old letter, wrote with a lead 
pencil the famous message: 

"We have met the enemy and they are ours." 
He was voted "thanks" by congress, presented with a 
medal for special bravery and raised to the rank of captain, 
his commission dating from September 10. 



i6 PERRY AT ERIE. 

Tlie British had 41 killed and 94 injured in the battle, 
while the Americans lost 27 men with 96 wounded, of whom 
fully two-thirds were aboard the Lawrence. 

Perry joined General Harrison at once and the Ameri- 
cans pursued the retreating- British and Indians up the 
Detroit River. The battle of the Thames followed, in which 
Chief Tecumseh was killed and all resistance to American 
supremacy on the lakes removed. 

Perry took General Harrison and staff on board the 
Ariel and sailed for Erie, where the Niagara was to meet 
him. At Put-in-Bay the defeated Barclay and his attending 
surgeon were invited to join the victorious party and ac- 
cepted. The Ariel, with Harrison, Perry and Barclay 
aboard, arrived in Erie, October 22. A national salute was 
fired from two field pieces on the peninsula as the Ariel was 
sighted. A large delegation of citizens assembled at the 
dock to greet Perry, and the party was escorted to Duncan's 
Hotel, at the foot of French street, where the gallant com- 
modore was deluged with congratulations. 

In the evening there was a great torchlight parade, 
the entire town being illuminated and decorated in honor 
of the returning hero. At Perry's request as little noise as 
was possible was made because of the illness of Barclay. 
On October 23. Perry paid his farewell visit to the battered 
Lawrence and on October 24 said farewell to Erie. He 
left for the East, never to return. 

The command of the lakes was turned over to Elliott, 
and during the winter a dispute arose as to the respective 
merits of Perry and Elliot, and a duel was fought between 
Midshipman Senat. who had commanded the Porcupine, 
and Acting Master AfcDonnld. The former was killed. He 
was engaged to be mnrricd fn an Eric girl at the time. The 
duel created a sensation. 

Perry remained in the navy until 18 T9, when he was 
given command of the John Adams and other vessels and 
ordered to the West Indies against pirates. Pie was stricken 
with yellow fever and died after a short illness. By an act 
of congress his remains were brought back to his native land 
and in December. 1826. were buried at Newport. 



PERRY AT ERIE. i? 



A magnificent granite block was erected to his memory 
by the state of Rhode Island, and a statue of Perry was 
dedicated at Cleveland 47 years after his great victory. 
Opposite his old home in Newport the citizens of that town 
erected a bronze statue, which was unveiled 28 years ago. 

A large painting of the battle of Lake Erie hangs in the 
capitol at Washington, and another close by it of Perry 
leaving the Lawrence for the Niagara. 

"Misery Bay," where Perry's fleet and a few of the 
captured British vessels were anchored for the winter of 
1813-14, is an arm of Erie harbor on the peninsula side 
almost directly across the bay from the Pennsylvania Sold- 
iers' and Sailors' Plome. It was given its unique name by 
the men who were assigned to duty aboard the fleet the 
winter following the victory. Supplies were secured from 
the village of Erie with considerable difticulty and the 
vessels could not be properly heated to make them com- 
fortable. The men suffered a great deal and before spring 
had so often spoken of their particular location as "Misery 
Bay"' that the people of Erie adopted the name. It has 
been so called ever since. 

The raising and rebuilding of the Niagara so that the 
centennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of 
Independence, in 1876, but the number is small of those who 
can tell much of anything about the final disposition of the 
old vessel could be used in the Perry centennial celebration 
on the lakes in 1913 recalls that the Larwence was raised 
from Misery Bay and sent to Philadelphia at the time of the 
other vessels of Perry's famous fleet. 

A careful examination of all the available records, in- 
cluding the Dobbins papers, the records of the Buffalo His- 
torical Society, and the writings of local historians, sub- 
stantiates the following as compiled and published by Frank 
H. Severance, of Buffalo, a former Erie resident: 

"The Somers and the Ohio were recaptured by the 
British while anchored off' Fort Erie, the fort being then 
held by Americans. The Porcupine escaped capture through 
being anchored close to the shore. After the war the 
Porcupine was taken to Detroit. It is said she was used in 



i8 PERRY AT ERIE. 



1817 and 1818 by the commissioners for determining- the 
international boundary line. In 1830, at Detroit, her upper 
works were rebuilt and her name changed to the Caroline. 
AC- * -x- 'pj-,g Q]f\ Porcupine was taken to Grand Haven 
and sailed for some years by Capt. Harry Miller. In 1850 
she was set adrift in Grand River, near the mouth. * * 
She was afterwards refitted and sailed for a season or two. 
Finally, about 1855, she was allowed to sink, head-on, at 
Ferrysburg, Mich. A few years ago a portion of her hull 
was raised. It was probably dispersed in relics. 

"The Scorpion and Tigress were captured by the British 
on Lake Huron. The Trippe, Little Belt and Ariel were 
burned by the British at Black Rock. The Chippewa was 
disabled and beached at Buffalo, where she was destroyed 
when the British burned the town, December 30-31, 1813. 
The Caledonia was sold to John Wayne. The Hunter was 
sold to traders at Black Rock; the Lady Provost to mer- 
chants at Fort Erie, and both vessels sailed the lakes for 
some years. 

"The Niagara was used by the government as a receiv- 
ing- ship at Erie until 1818 when she was abandoned and sunk 
in Misery Bay. The Niagara was sunk in deeper water than 
the Lawrence and escaped the ravages of relic hunters to a 
large extent. The Lawrence, Detroit and Queen Charlotte 
were sunk by order of the U. S. government in Misery Bay 
in July, 1815. 

"In 1825. they, with the Niagara, were sold by the gov- 
ernment, as they lay at the bottom of the bay, to Command- 
er Budd, of the navy, and by him sold August 9, 1825, to 
Benj. H. Brown, of Rochester, for $325. Brown appears to 
have sold them, or a part interest to A. Q. D. Leach, of 
Erie. * * * Four boats were sold to Captain George 
Miles, of Erie, June 11, 1835. In 1835 the Detroit and 
Queen Charlotte were raised, refitted into merchant ves- 
sels, but were not used long before being laid up. The De- 
troit was docked at Buffalo, purchased by hotel men at Ni- 
agara Falls and sent over the falls as a spectacle to draw 
visitors on September 15, 1841. A part of her hull remained 
in view for over a year. 



PERRY AT ERIE. 19 



(Note — In 1836 some of the vessels were raised, Cap- 
tain Miles and others intending to fit them up for merchant 
service. The Detroit and Queen Charlotte were found to be 
in fairly good condition, but the Lawrence was so badly rid- 
dled as to be useless and she was again sunk in Misery Bay.) 

"On December 9, 1857, Captain Miles sold his interest 
in the Lawrence and Niagara to Leander Dobbins for $200. 
* * * For some years the Lawrence remained the prey 
of rehc hunters. In i860, at the time of the dedication of the 
Perry monument in Cleveland, several timbers were taken 
from the wreck of the Lawrence, handsome arm-chairs were 
made from them, one being presented to Dr. Usher Parsons, 
who served as surgeon on board the Lawrence during the 
battle ; one was sent to the president of the Perry Monument 
Association in Cleveland and another to Captain Stephen 
Champlin, Buffalo. Several large fragments are owned now 
by the Buffalo Historical Society. For several years the 
making of 'Lawrence canes' was a profitable industry in 
Erie. 

"In 1875 Mr. Dobbins placed the Lawrence in the hands 
of John Dunlap, Thos. J. Viers and Rush Warner for exhibi- 
tion at the centennial and ultimate disposal as souvenirs. 
The speculation was unsuccessful. The hull of the Lawrence 
was raised September 17, 1875, towed across the bay to the 
city and again sunk. In the spring of 1876 it was raised, put 
on railroad cars and shipped to Philadelphia." 

Mr. Severance says that a one-fifth interest in the Law- 
rence cost Mrs. Anna C. Morrison, of Lockport, N. Y., 
$1,000. The vessel was given a poor location at the centen- 
nial, and in August of that year it was seized for rentals of 
over $300 due the land owners. It was sold by the sheriff 
for about $600. It was repurchased by Rush Warner and a 
Mr. Adams and disposed of in relic fragments. 

One incident of the period following immediately after 
the battle of Lake Erie that has been so widely discussed 
and caused so much feeling at the time as to result in many 
conflicting records being made of it was the hanging of 
James Bird. Erie people have heard so many versions of 
the affair that it is necessary only to mention it as an inci- 



20 PERRY AT ERIE. 



dent of the period. The best records of Perry and the Bat- 
tle of Lake Erie that can be secured make Httle or no refer- 
ence to the affair. From the best information available it ap- 
pears that Bird was a stalwart, fearless sailor who did vali- 
ant service during the famous battle. His home has been 
variously fixed by different authorities from points in Central 
Pennsylvania to Western New York towns, including West- 
field and Buffalo. It is probable, as some historians have 
it, that Bird was refused a furlough following the battle, and 
deserted. He was captured near Greenville, Pa., brought 
back, tried by courtmartial found guilty, and sentenced to 
hang. With two other offenders he was hanged from the 
yard arm of the Niagara as she lay in the channel entrance to 
the harbor and the remains interred on the beach near where 
the Perry Iron Works is now located. A human skeleton 
found there has been partially identified as that of Bird, 
but certain identificaton could not be made. It is possible 
that Bird's remains were taken up and interred in a cemetery 
here, at Buffalo or Westfield, each city presenting circum- 
stances that would tend to establish their claims, were it not 
for the confliction of records found. The reasonable expla- 
nation is that there were several James Birds in the service 
of this country during its early years. 

After telling the story of the battle practically as the 
historians have it. Captain Dobbins has this to say of Com- 
modore Perry : 

"Commodore Perry was a man of few words, rather se- 
date and of a serious turn of mind; seldom, if ever, addicted 
to the use of profanity in the slightest degree, or even levity ; 
prompt and emphatic in giving an order, though always 
courteous and of charitable and generous impulses. His 
deportment was such ms to command respect under all cir- 
cumstances." 



PERRY AT ERIK. 21 



Early Erie History 

Erie was incorporated as a borough in 1805, having been 
designated as a seat of justice in 1800, with Judge Jesse 
Moore presiding in a log court house at Second and Hol- 
land streets. The county being too sparsely settled to main- 
tain a distinct organization, by the Act of April 9, 1801, Ve- 
nango, Mercer, Crawford, Warren and Erie counties were 
thrown temporarily together for election and governmental 
purposes. Meadville was designated as the place of holding- 
court and for two years all county business was transacted 
there. 

Judge Moore opened the Erie county courts at Erie in 
April, 1803. The hours of convening were announced by 
the crier by the blowing of a horn. This horn was used until 
as late as 1823. Supreme Judge Yates held the first supreme 
court session in Erie in October, 1806. The county courts 
were presided over by a president judge and two associate 
judges, the latter generally farmers in good standing, until 
1839, when a district court was created to dispose of the 
the accumulated business in that end of the state. 

Judges were appointed by the governor up to 1851 when 
the first election for judges was held, Hon. John Galbraith 
being chosen president judge and Hon. Joseph M. Sterrett 
and Hon. James Miles, associate judges. 

The first district attorney for Erie county was William 
M. Irvine, appointed by the governor in 1804. Hon. Wil- 
liam Wallace succeeded him in 1806. 

The first hanging for murder in Erie county occurred 
March 9, 1838, when Henry Francisco was executed by 
Sherifif Andrew Scott within the jail, which occupied the site 
of the present court house. Francisco was sentenced to 
death by Judge Shippen, in November, 1837. Francisco mar- 
ried a pretty Erie girl named Marie Robinson and shortly af- 
ter the wedding the two agreed to commit suicide, and each 
swallowed four ounces of laudnum. The woman died, but 
the poison acted as an emetic to Francisco and he recovered. 



PERRY AT ERIE. 



He was convicted of influencing his wife to end her hfe and 
sentenced to hang. The body was interred at Seventh and 
Myrtle streets. 

Erie's early history is remarkably free from Indian out- 
rages, but one being recorded. James Sill wrote in 1853 of 
a man named Rutledge and his son, who were tomahawked 
near what was afterwards the site of the City Mills. 

The Erie and Waterford turnpike road, over which 
troops marched to the defense of Erie in 1813, was com- 
pleted in 1807 and was the first means of communication be- 
tween the city and the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. 

The first newspaper pubhshed in Erie was the Mirror, 
published by George Wyeth about 1810, for two years. 

From Captain Dobbins' own papers it is learned that he 
\vas born the day after the Declaration of Independence was 
signed, July 5, 1776, in a pioneer's home on the south bank 
of the Juniata river near the present site of Lewiston, Mif- 
flin county. Pa. In 1795, at the age of 19, he walked through 
the wilderness to Colt's station, about fourteen miles south- 
east of this city. He stopped there and engaged in the serv- 
ice of Judah Colt, agent of the Pennsylvania Population 
Company. On July i, 1796, he first visited the settlement of 
Erie. In his own papers he describes Erie as he saw it on 
that first visit as follows : 

"The only occupied houses were a small log cabin on 
the west side of the mouth of Mill creek, occupied as a tav- 
ern by James Baird, one near the junction of Second and Pa- 
rade streets, occupied as a tavern by Julius Seth Reed; one 
on the present property of James M. Sterrett, occupied by 
Ezekiel Dunning, as a tannery; one on French and Front 
streets, occupied by Thomas Rees. In the county or tri- 
angle (then a part of Allegheny county) there were a few who 
had built log houses, among them the Lawries, who settled 
about the mouth of Sixteen-mile creek, comprehending what 
is now the village of North East. All the rest was wild, 
gloomy forest ; and these few hardy pioneers of the woods, 
with the Indians, disputed their right to the soil, with the 
bear, the wolf and the panther." 



PERRY AT ERIE. 23 

In a letter from Erie in after years, Captain Dobbins 
wrote : 

"I was in this place when General Wayne was brouglit 
here from Detroit sick with the gout, in the sloop Detroit. 
He continued sick with this disease until he died. I attended 
him part of the time and was at his funeral, December 15, 
1796. He was buried near the flagstafif, in the fort, on the 
east side of the mouth of Mill creek. In 1808 or '09 his son 
came and disinterred the body and took it to his native place 
in Chester county. When the body was disinterred it was in 
such a state of preservation that to detach the fiesh from the 
bones he employed Dr. J. C. Wallace to boil it in kettles. 
One of his boots was so well preserved that Mr. Duncan, 
who kept a tavern here, wore it after having had made a 
mate for it." 

The Dobbins letters from this point on take up a great 
many pages in the Buffalo Historical Society publication, 
relating to correspondence between Dobbins and Rufus 
Reed and tell of early navigation here. 

A glimpse of frontier conditions in 1807 is afforded by 
the following letter from Samuel Smither to Captain Dob- 
bins, who was then trading in the Schooner Ranger: 

Erie Reserve, Aug. 27, 1807. 
Sir: — The town of Erie is so illy supplied with goods this 
summer that I will be under the necessity of importing some 
articles of necessity from some place that they are to be had. 
I have lately inquired for coffee — none to be had, not even 
in expectation in a short time. Also powder and shot much 
the same as with coffee. If you can obtain a supply of any 
or all of them at Fort Erie or elsewhere in your perigrina- 
tions on the coast of the lake or its waters please procure for 
me each of the following quantity : 4 lbs. coffee, i lb. powder, 
3 do shot, I do lead. My gunlock is in need of some repairs. 
I will send it along. If there is any person in your course of 
trading who can do it please get it done — if not, it will serve 
as a pattern to choose another if any is to be had. * * *" 

In 18 10 Captain Dobbins was rebuilding the Salina at 
Black Rock and he complained of the appearance of maple 



24 PERRY AT ERIE. 

sugar sent him, and received the following explanation from 
the sender in Erie : "The sugar you speak of being black I 
have discovered is the same here. It is owing to its being 
made in black walnut troughs." 

Captain Dobbins was at Mackinac Island on board his 
vessel, the Salina, July i6, 1812, when he learned that war 
had been declared. He was made a prisoner of war the same 
day by the British forces there. With sixty other Americans 
Captain Dobbins was asked to take the oath of allegience 
to the British government and swear not to take up arms 
against Britain. This Dobbins refused to do. Among the 
British officials there was a petty officer by the name of Wil- 
motli, who knew Dobbins, with the result that he was allow- 
ed to depart with his vessel as a cartel, to take his fellow pris- 
oners to Maiden. Among them were Rufus Seth Reed and 
\\'illiam W. Reed, of Erie, and 29 others. 

At Detroit he found General Hull and troops encamped 
on the Canadian shore, opposite. A ball was fired across the 
Salina's bow to bring her to, and she was taken in charge by 
an officer. Captain Dobbins then joined a force under Col- 
onel Cass, against a British scouting party and on his re- 
turn from this expedition joined another force under Colonel 
Miller, which met and defeated a party of British and Indians. 
He then crossed with Hull's party to Detroit, was enrolled 
in a company of city guards. He did valiant service there 
and after the surrender of Hull, Captain Dobbins was taken 
with other prisoners to Maiden. Someone told the British 
commanding officer, Brock, that Dobbins had broken his 
parole by taking up arms in defense of Detroit. Dobbins 
would undoubtedly have been seized and put to death, but 
a brother Mason warned him of his danger and supplied him 
with a pass to Cleveland. This pass has been preserved and 
reads: 

"Permit Daniel Dobbins and Rufus Seth Reed to pass 
from hence to Cleveland on board of boats dispatched with 
prisoners of war. 

"ROBERT NICHOLS, 

"Eieut. Col. Q. M. Gen. 

"Detroit, Aug. 17, 1812." 



PERRY AT ERIE. 25 

While waiting- for this pass Dobbins lay in hiding in the 
woods near Detroit, a part of the time keeping himself con- 
cealed under piles of sand and rubbish. A reward was offer- 
ed for him dead or alive ; a price was set upon his scalp and 
Indians were placed upon his trail, but he managed to make 
his way on foot along the bank of the river until he reached 
its mouth, where he found a dug-out in which he paddled 
across Lake Erie to Sandusky, making his camp over night 
on the shore of Put-in-Bay, where the Perry Memorial is 
erected. 

He secured a horse at Sandusky, then a mere handful 
of shanties, and journeyed to Cleveland, where he left the 
horse and proceeded in a canoe along the bank of the lake to 
Presque Isle and gave the garrison there and the few resi- 
dents of the village the first news of the surrender of Hull at 
Detroit. 

At the request of General Meade, the officer in com- 
mand there. Dobbins started immediately for Washington, 
on horseback. He made the trip through the dense forests 
to Pittsburgh and thence by military road to Washington. 
At the war office in Washington he conveyed first news of 
Hull's surrender at Detroit to Secretary Eustice and the de- 
partment officials. A few hours later Colonel Cass arrived 
with word of the defeat direct from Detroit. A cabinet meet- 
ing was held at which Capt. Dobbins related the incidents of 
the Detroit disaster and so eloquently and forcefully pleaded 
for a campaign to regain control of the lakes that President 
Madison exclaimed: 

"There is one thing to be done. We must regain con- 
trol of the lakes. Therein lies our only safetv." 

Captain Dobbins was asked for information as how best 
to proceed. He insisted that the best point from every con- 
sideration was Presque Isle, picturing to the officials the ex- 
cellent harbor, the facilities surrounding it, including the ex- 
cellent oak trees for building vessels. As a result it was de- 
cided to give the brave, fresh-water sailor charge of the 
work. He was accordingly commissioned an officer of the 
navy and set out immediately on his return to Erie, going 



26 PERRY AT ERIE. 

by way of New York, where he commissioned several ship- 
carpenters, who accompanied him home. 

From his paper it is learned that he was authorized to 
draw on the navy department for $2,000. A draft for this 
amount was placed in the hands of Rufus Seth Reed, who 
advanced the money on it as it was needed. He had studied 
a gun boat seen on the Ohio river and this gave him an idea 
of how to proceed. 

He made contracts with timber owners for trees at a 
uniform price of one dollar per tree. Joseph Kratz was own- 
er of tract 29 and he permitted Dobbins to have all the trees 
cut he wished, tellers to enumerate the number afterwards. 
Robert Brown and Robert Irwin acted as tellers and after 
the cutting- was done they found that Dobbins owed Kratz 
$113. Others sold standing timber in the same manner, the 
"Widow Lowrey receiving $25 for trees." 

Steel was hauled from Meadville and axes were made at 
the shipyard. Holmes Reed was given $5.50 for setting a 
steam kettle and $5 for building a forge for John MacDon- 
ald, the blacksmith. Coal was hauled from the pits (location 
uncertain) at 6 1-4 cents a bushel. Wages ranged from $2.50 
per day for the master builder to $2 per day for the black- 
smith and down to $1.25 for the sawyers and 62 1-2 cents for 
the axemen. Hauling with horses or oxen was paid for at 
$4 per day. Board was secured for the men at $2.25 per 
week. William Black gave his receipt for $64.09 for working 
in the blacksmith shop 68 days and boarding himself. The 
record shows "$15 for a month's work," in numerous in- 
stances. 

Roswell Nettleton received $47 for 23 days' work haul- 
ing iron from Bellefonte to the navy yard. He afterwards 
went to Buffalo for a load of spike iron and charged $41.25. 
It must have been a long and hazardous trip. James E. Mc- 
Elroy received $47.14 for bringing a wagon load of carpen- 
ters' tools and nail rods from Pittsburgh through the wild 
country. 

During this time (when the fleet was building) Dobbins 
seems to have had no end of trouble in getting official recog- 
nition of his acts. It took so long to communicate with 



PERRY AT ERIE. 2j 



Washington that great delay was occasioned. Several letters 
passed between Dobbins and Lieutenant Elliott at Buffalo, 
and in one of Elliott's replies to Dobbins he discouraged 
Dobbins with the statement, "It appears to me utterly im- 
possible to build gun boats at Presque Isle. There is not a 
sufficient depth of water to get them into the lake." 

One man of the shipyard gang died. The bill for his 
coffin turns up among more important things. Several men 
deserted. Captain Dobbins followed them through the 
woods at a cost to the government of $41.79 and they were 
ultimately lodged in the Pittsburgh jail. The designs for 
the vessel were made by Henry Eckford, one of the greatest 
naval architects this country has produced. Noah Brown was 
superintendent of construction. Shipwrights sent from Phil- 
adelphia did not reach Erie until the work was well under 
way. 

Sacket Dodge furnished teams to haul guns from Black 
Rock to Buffalo and William Price piloted the teams from 
Buffalo to Cattaragus in mid-winter, the guns being hauled 
a part of the way on the ice of the lake. To move a 12- 
pounder and other goods weighing 6.000 pounds from Buf- 
falo to Cattaragus cost $133.33 i"4- Augustus Porter sold 
to the workmen the beef they ate. One long account for 
hauling guns and stores from Buffalo to Erie foots up $843.- 
95. Among the items are board bills at two Buffalo board- 
ing houses. 

There is nothing among the Dobbins papers which may 
be regarded as a total accounting of the cost of building the 
fleet, but it is probably closely approximated in Noah 
Brown's accounts, a total of $19,466.42. One item that ar- 
rests the eye in these old accounts, but which was then a 
matter of course as the weekly board bill, is whiskey. Thus 
Rufus S. Reed supplied to the ship-yard, November 17. 181 2, 
32 3-4 gallons of whiskey; December 25, 30 1-2 gallons; 
January 19, 34 gallons; February 10, 39 gallons; Feb. 20. 
30 gallons, etc. The liquor cost 75 cents a gallon. Capt. 
Dobbins' traveling expenses were allowed by the govern- 
ment at fifteen cents per mile. 

That Dobbins furnished the srovernment with accounts 



28 PERRY AT ERIE. 

of tlie work is shown in the lengthy letters which are a part of 
the voluminous records. 

Before the writer turns from the Dobbins papers to the 
records of Perry's work, it should be mentioned that the 
Dobbins family was one of distinction in the Lake Erie re- 
gion for a century. The old Dobbins homestead at Third 
and State sheltered not only Perry and other heroes of the 
war of 1812, but also Lafayette was a guest within its walls 
in 1825, and there were other famous men and women in the 
succeeding years. Capt. Dobbins died in Erie February 20, 
1854. his widow surviving until January 22, 1879. Per- 
haps the saddest incident occurring in the Dobbins home 
was the death of their son, William W., a promising young 
naval man, who died on the day Rutherford B. Hayes was 
inaugurated president. 




In the upper picture are shown the men who raised the hull of the Niagara. 

On the left (center) is the picture of Simeon Dunn, and on the right, 

Benjamin Fleming. Below is a sketch from a painting of 

Perry crossing from the Lawrence to the Niagara. 



PERRY AT ERIE. 29 



Britain Expected Victory 

Great Britain expected an easy victory when the war 
was declared, and her ministry planned to redraw the map of 
Canada so it would include at least the northern part of the 
United States. Canada, she even dared to hope, would ex- 
tend from the north pole to the Gulf of Mexico. With this 
end in view, her efforts to retain control of the upper lakes 
(which she had wrested from us in 181 2) takes on an added 
significance. 

The man who was predestined to give the death blow 
to Britain's plan to extend Canada over the whole of North 
America, was Oliver Hazard Perry. 

On March 24, 1813, there arrived in the village of Buf- 
falo the young naval officer, who, impatient of dull, inactive 
service at Newport, in his native state, Rhode Island, asked 
for more active service ; was assigned to the chief command 
on Lake Erie, and who, in one single battle, carved his 
name high on the roll of fame, along with Nelson, Von 
Tromp, Sir Francis Drake, Paul Jones — the name of Oliver 
Hazard Perry. Of Buffalo's part in the history which Perry 
made, one of her eloquent citizens, one hundred years after- 
wards, said the following: 

"Sometimes it seems that of all our great naval and mili- 
tary heroes, Perry is most unfortunate in his popularity. 
Every school boy, at one time or another, becomes familiar 
with those catch phrases, "Don't give up the ship," and "We 
have met the enemy and they are ours," and somehow, in 
our exultation, we are carried away with a sort of enthusi- 
astic hurrah and imagine Perry prancing up and down the 
deck, waving his sword and crying out in regular swash- 
buckler style, 'We have met the enemy and they are ours.' 
Such an idea is farthest from the truth. 

"Perry was tall, well and strongly built, and a thor- 
ough seaman, officer and gentleman. He was quiet and 
courteous in his manner and very precise in his language. 
His written orders are models of clearness and brevity. Like 



30 PERRY AT ERIE. 

Grant and other great commanders, he never used super- 
fluous words, and the message so often quoted, was simply 
his condensed report, boiled down, as they say in newspaper 
offices, of the great battle, and while he undoubtedly felt 
much exultation, as he had great reason to feel, he was not 
then, nor at any other time, in the slightest degree a braga- 
docia. He was tender-hearted and sensitive. 

"Perry was no mollycoddle — he was bold, fearless, the 
best of energy and fertility of resources. While it is a fact 
that much of the work of creating the fleet was under way 
prior to his coming, his energy and earnest zeal, undoubtedly 
hastened its completion, especially at Erie. 

"May 27, 1813, the capture of Fort George, near Nia- 
gara-on-the-Lake, was effected, and in order to be present 
with the marines and sailors who took part in the attack, 
Perry went from Erie to Buffalo in an open boat, against 
wind and storm, with only four companions. His presence 
was an inspiration. Said Commodore Chauncey, the com- 
mander-in-chief, in greeting Perry: "No person on earth, 
at this time, could be more welcome," and the official re- 
port declares that "he was present at every point where he 
could be useful, under showers of musketry." 

"The capture of Fort George led to the abandonment 
by the British of the entire Niagara frontier, and gave the 
long-looked for opportunity to release five vessels which had 
lain in Scajaquada Creek for several months, and under the 
supervision of Henry Eckford, the most noted ship builder 
of that day, fitted over for war purposes, but had been unable 
to leave the shipyard, owing to the batteries along the Can- 
adian shore. These boats were the Caledonia, Amelia, 
Trippe, Somers and the Ohio. These five boats formed Buf- 
falo's contribution, and Buffalo's only contribution to Perry's 
fleet. 

"Under Perry's personal command, these five boats left 
Buffalo June 13, 1813, and reached Erie on the 19th, joining 
the balance of the fleet which had been built at this point. 
Six boats were constructed there, the Lawrence, Niagara, 
Porcupine, Tigress and Ariel, the squadron originally com- 
prising eleven boats. The Amelia, on arriving at Erie, was 



PERRY AT ERIE. 31 

found unseaworthy and abandoned. Another Buffalo boat, 
the Ohio, commanded by Captain Daniel Dobbins, whose 
descendants for three generations have resided in Buffalo, 
was absent on detached service the day of the fight, but the 
remaining three boats, the Caledonia, Trippe and Somers, 
were present in the fight. 

"The six vessels built at Erie with these three, made 
up the nine vessels, which under Perry's leadership, fought 
and won the victory. 

"The people of this entire section unite in doing honor 
to Commodore Perry and the American squadron in the 
war of 1812. The citizens of Erie can never forget what 
that gallant man achieved for the cities of the lakes. No 
officer on land or sea acquitted himself with greater honor ; 
no man in naval history displayed greater bravery or heroism 
than the man who wrote the immortal message: "We have 
met the enemy and they are ours." 

"His executive ability in organizing a fleet against the 
world's greatest naval power ; his never-say-die spirit, shown 
in every engagement in which he participated ; his pluck and 
nerve in the transfer from the sinking Lawrence to the Nia- 
gara enabling him to score a glorious victory after his flag- 
ship was shattered by British fire, these are the things for 
which the people of this city and nation can never cease to 
feel grateful. The war of 1812 brought great hardships to 
the village of Erie; but that war is happily a thing of the 
past. Another century has come and gone. The ashes of 
1813 have given place to the beauty of 1913. International 
animosities have disappeared. Fraternal good will prevails 
between the new republic and the older empire." 

Frank H. Severance, of the BufTalo Historical Society, 
has the original sailing order issued by Commodore Perry, 
directing the Buffalo squadron to sail to Erie. It is an ela- 
borate document, giving minute directions to each captain 
in the fleet. It is all done in Perry's own handwriting. 



PERRY AT ERIE. 



Simeon Dunn, Perry's Messenger 

Among the citizens of Erie in 1813 who gave Perry 
assistance worthy of special mention was Simeon Dunn, 
who for many years afterward resided in Erie and was 
honored by the community on numerous occasions. It was 
Simeon Dunn who carried Perry's messages to Chauncey 
at BufTalo. He dashed to that city on his fleet horse a num- 
ber of times, undergoing severe hardships. His service 
was such that Perry and General Mead often commended 
him. 

From an extensive obituary, published following his 
death in Erie May 22, 187 1, is taken the following, showing 
that he was interested in his native city and did much to 
improve it : 

"He was an active, enterprising citizen, a soldier of the 
war of 18 12, and had gained so good a reputation as a scout 
that he was frequently the bearer of important dispatches. 
But the one act that will be the longest remembered is that 
Simeon Dunn planted the maples that adorn our beautiful 
parks. They are living, breathing monuments that shall 
perpetuate the memory of an active, spirited, honest citizen. 
Mr. Dunn was possessed of great physical endurance and 
was about apparently in good health until within a few days. 
On Friday before last he went to McKean to dig up a load 
of young maple trees (he has planted many a hundred in 
Erie) and in getting then so overheated himself that he was 
taken violently ill and failed from that hour until his death. 
Peace to his ashes." 

From the papers left by Captain Dobbins, the following 
brief sketch of Simeon Dunn is secured : 

"Simeon Dunn was a native of New Jersey, born April 
14, 1782, came to Meadville, Crawford County, Pa., in June, 
1797, was married to Martha Lewis, September 29, 1802, 
and removed to Erie in 1807. 

"Mr. Dunn was an energetic citizen, as also a kind and 
social man, and a good neighbor. He made and handled 



PERRY AT ERIE. 33 



a. large amount of money in his day, but like many others, 
had not the faculty of keeping it. He was a true friend, 
a kind husband and father. He followed various kinds of 
business and for many years that of manufacturing brick. 

''During the year 1812 he was frequently employed by 
Commodore Perry and General Mead as a courier to carry 
dispatches, and by reason of his prompt and faithful dis- 
charge of duty, often elicited their commendation. 

"As early as 1806 a volunteer company of infantry was 
organized in Erie and when Mr. Dunn came here to reside 
he joined it. This company was employed mostly in pro- 
tecting the place during the building of Perry's fleet, as the 
British fleet was continually cruising ofif and on in front of 
the harbor, and it was supposed the British ocmmander was 
only waiting a favorable opportunity to land with a force 
and destroy the vessels. This company continued in service 
until peace was declared in 1814. As this was the first mili- 
tary organization, we give the names of the officers and 
privates : 

"Thomas Forster, captain; Thomas Reese, lieutenant; 
Thomas Stewart, ensign; Thomas Wilkins, sergeant; John 
Hay, second sergeant; Rufus Clough, fifer; J. Glazier, drum- 
mer. 

"Privates — Archibald McSparren, Simeon Dunn, Adam 
Arbuckle, George Kelly, John Swan, William Murray, Jonas 
Duncan, John Woodside, William Duncan, George Stough. 
John Eakens, George Russel, John E. Lapsley, Peter Gra- 
wosz, Jacob Carmack, William Henderson, Robert Irwin, 
Ebenezer Dwinnel, John Bell, Robert McDonald, Samuel 
Hays, Thomas Laird, Thomas Hughs, Robert Brown, John 
Morris, George Buchler, William Lattimore, James Herron, 
Steven Woolverton, Francis Scott, Thomas Vance and John 
Teel." 



34 PERRY AT ERIE. 



Last Survivor of Perry's Crew 

The last survivor of Perry's command was Benjamin 
Fleming, who died at his home in Erie in 1870, aged 96 
years. Fleming was of Scotch descent and spent the entire 
period from 18 13 until his death in Erie. During the latter 
years he came to be a conspicuous figure about the town 
and was frequently visited by men of prominence, who vis- 
ited the city and were not contented to leave until they had 
seen and conversed with the last survivor of Perry's com- 
mand. 

One hundred years after the battle of Lake Erie there 
were many direct descendants of Fleming in Erie and the 
surrounding country who pointed with pride to their distin- 
guished ancestor. 

Fleming was a born seaman and to his last days spent 
much of his time on the water. He served with distinction 
on the Niagara and was one of the first to cheer when Perry 
and his little brother boarded the vessel after the Lawrence 
had been disabled. After the war, Fleming became con- 
spicuous through being an important witness in the contro- 
versy between Perry and Elliott. For many years he fished 
and did a great deal of hunting about the peninsula. 

The right of way given the Pennsylvania railroad com- 
pany into Erie unfortunately cut too close to the private 
cemetery in which was interred the men who lost their lives 
in the battle of Lake Erie and some of the caskets, or what 
remained of them, were exposed. Citizens protested and fi- 
nally it was decided to remove the bones of the dead heroes 
to Erie cemetery. The occasion was made one of general 
celebration and state ofTlcials took part in the long proces- 
sion which escorted the "bones" to the cemetery. This was 
in 1859 and Fleming headed the parade in an open barouche, 
being proclaimed at that day the last survivor of Perry's 
command. 

"Ben" Fleming attended the dedication of the Perry 
monument in Cleveland in i860, and while there described 



PERRY AT ERIE. 35 



the battle of Lake Erie in a vivid manner. His story in part 
was preserved in newspapers of that time. Among other 
things, he said : 

"The Niagara was not so badly impaired when Perry 
came on board, as the enemy's fire had been directed at the 
flagship. Every man on board had made up his mind not to 
give up the ship before Perry came on board, but after the 
flag came not an inch could be forced from them while a 
plank lasted." 

When he died his remains lay in state in the court house 
and were viewed by hundreds. A great military procession 
escorted the remains to their last resting place in Erie ceme- 
tery and he was buried with all the teremony fitting the final 
disposition of the remains of the last survivor of the Battle 
of Lake Erie. 



36 PERRY AT ERIE. 



Erie in 1813 



Less than three score buildings constituted the business 
center of Erie in 1813. They were erected between Sassafras 
and Holland streets and between the lake front and what 
was later Seventh street. Scattering frame and log houses 
were to be seen in close proximity to the village. 

Seven years after Perry first reached Erie the official 
U. S. census showed but 625 inhabitants. It was some- 
what larger during the war, by reason of the large number 
of volunteers assembled in defense of the town. 

One of the principal residences of the city was that of 
Capt. Daniel Dobbins at Third and State streets, where 
Perry stopped. 

A Crawford county judge. Judge Jesse Moore, held 
court in the village, Erie county not having a distinct court 
of its own at that time. 

James Hughes was postmaster of Erie in 1813, having 
been appointed in 181 1, and served until 1828. 

Judah Colt was burgess of Erie in 1813, having been 
chosen for a one-year term. He was burgess again in 1820 
and 1 82 1. 

Congressman representing Erie was Thomas Wilson, of 
Erie. 

Joseph Shannon was state senator in 1813, represent- 
ing Erie, Crawford and Warren counties. 

James Weston, of LeBoeuf. represented Erie county in 
the state assembly. 

James Weston was also sheriff of Erie county in 1813, 
holding the office through appointment by the governor. 

John Warren, of Erie, was treasurer of boro and county 
in 1813. 

John McCord, of North East, was coroner in 1813. 



15" 




5^ 







CAPT. DANIEL DOBBINS, 

A sketch of the Dobbins home, made from a description, and a sketch of the 

old four-post bed in which Perry slept during his stay in Erie. 



PERRY AT ERIE. 37 

John Salsbury, of Conneaut; Henry Taylor, of North 
East, and Thomas Wilson, of Erie, were county commis- 
sioners. 

Thomas Wilson was county surveyor in 18 13. 

County auditors at that time were : John Lytle, Water- 
ford ; Robert McClelland, Millcreek, and Robert Townley, 
Erie. 



38 PERRY AT ERIE. 



Personnel of Perry's Fleet 

Lawrence (flagship) — Eighteen 32-pound carronades, 
Commodore Perry. 

Niagara — (Same armament as Lawrence), Capt. Jesse 
D. ElHott. 

Caledonia — Three long 12-pounders. Purser Hum- 
phrey AlcGrath. 

Ariel — Four long 12-pounders, Lieut. John Packett. 

Trippe — One long 32-pounder, Lieut. Joseph E. Smith. 

Tigress — One long 24-pounder and one long 12-pound- 
er, Sailing Master Thomas C. Almy. 

Scorpion — One long 24 and one long 12-pounder, Sail- 
ing Master Stephen Champlin. 

Ohio — One long 24-pounder, Sailing Master Daniel 
Dobbins. 

Porcupine — One long 32-pounder, Midshipman George 
Senat. 

Before leaving Erie harbor Perry issued written orders 
to each vessel commandant. The written order issued to 
Capt. Dobbins and still preserved among his papers, reads: 

U. S. Sloop of War, Lawrence, 

Off Erie, 8th July, 1813. 
Sir: You will immediately take command of the U. S. 
Schooner Ohio, and get her over the bar as soon as possible. 

Respectfully, etc., 

O. H. PERRY. 
Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins, 
U. S. Navy. 

P. S. — You will look out for two or three good pilots 
and engage tlieiii as soon as possible. 



PERRY AT ERTE. 39 



One pilot engaged by Dobbins was Azeal (or Asel) Wil- 
kinson, the pilot of the Ariel, who Lossing says, stood at his 
post throughout the battle of Sept. lo, "though the thun- 
der of the great guns brought the blood from his ears and 
nose, permanently impairing his hearing." After the war 
Wilkinson made his home at Golden, Erie county, N. Y. He 
was present at the unveiling of the Perry monument in 
Cleveland, O., Sept. lo, i860, and gave to historians many 
reminiscences of the battle. On July 4, 1861. while attending 
a celebration in Buffalo, he fell dead on the street. 



r.A.Y 5 IS 13 



Journal Publishine Company 



18 West Twelfth St. .Erie, Pa. 



W46 





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